6/26/2014 Route: Elkhead Pass Posted On: 6/27/2014, By: cfb Info: Standard route is clear. Elkhead Pass (easier on old knees, especially downhill) has a few snowfields remaining that can be avoided with little problem |
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6/20/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/20/2014, By: JTOlson26 Info: Belford was beautiful today. There are two small snowfields with the summit in sight: probably less than 75 vertical feet from the top. You can go around them, through the trenches which are already established, or over the top (in the morning) as they were very solid at 9:00 AM. |
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6/15/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/15/2014, By: The Moose Info: One section of the trail near treeline has a small snowbank easily sidestepped, other than that 100% clear until the last ridge. On the ridge, two minimal snow crossings, probably will disappear in a few days. |
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6/5/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/6/2014, By: ctlee Info: Summer in Missouri Gulch!! Very little avoidable snow in the trees and then three or four patches low in the basin- the usual hard in the morning and slush fest in the afternoon type snow but if you can suck it up for about a dozen steps it's not bad! Once on the ridge it's dry with one or two avoidable patches. The flat area before the summit block has a large area of snow which is not a problem if you pick your line carefully- on descent I postholed one leg to my waist (ouch). Ridge to Oxford equally clear and delightful!! |
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5/31/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/4/2014, By: Andymcp1 Info: The route is completely dry until after the creek crossings. After this point there is one section of trail near tree line (old mining cabin) into the willows area in the basin that has snow( about .25 miles). You can avoid most of it by going above or below it, but I assume it will be melted out in a week or two. On the ridge itself and the traverse to Oxford you can easily avoid all snow. Leave the boots and snow shoes at home and enjoy the trail runners and shorts on this one! |
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5/24/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 5/27/2014, By: jmc5040 Info: Image #1 NW gully Image #2 W face A group climbed and skied the NW gully on 5/24. The gully appeared narrow in spots, but coverage seemed good. |
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4/22/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 4/23/2014, By: Unknown Info: Hardpack snow begins at the river. The Dex trench is in after the stream crossing - you can thank me later. The snow has blown off the mountain. Traction devise, snow shoes, gaiters recommended. On the way down - even with the trench, expect postholing. |
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3/22/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 3/25/2014, By: KymbreInDaWild Info: The road to Missouri Gulch TH isn't passable beyond about 4 miles from the TH. If you are daring, try, and get stuck, a fantastic towing company is Gunsmoke Towing from BV :-) Trail up to the stream crossing had been post-holed (thank you whoever man-handled that snow!) and my partner and I packed it down more with skis. Reached Missouri Gulch Basin, the area of avy danger, and turned back due to very poor snow conditions and a beacon out of batteries at 11,000'. What a beautiful area. The skin up and ski down was a blast, although cut short. Definitely would recommend strapping on snow shoes or skis, the trail is packed now but the base is wonderfully deep. |
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1/25/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 1/26/2014, By: zak munro Info: Made it about half way the road to the trail head before getting stuck then spending the next 1.5hours trying to back down and getting stuck, the road right now is passible but just barley. Headed up the switch back with only a slight track going up it didnt look like anyone had been up there in while. I had my eye on skiing the gully along the ridge but the steep sections of the gully were horribly wind slabbed and made for scary/tricky skiing, plus the entire lower part of the gully had tons of rocks in it from the slopes above. I put a bunch of really good dings in my skies and wouldent advise trying to ski it or any of the trail back down until we get a good dumping of snow |
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1/5/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 1/10/2014, By: wyojeremy Info: Despite the wind and low temps we decided to try on this date. The 390 road had quite a bit of snow and we were only able to make it within 2 miles from the TH similar to the previous post. The lower part of the trail was very passable with just boots. As we got closer to the creek crossing at the top of the switchbacks, the snow got deeper. Once on the other side of the creek snow shoes became essential. The trail was visible but barely. Once we got to the cabin, snow shoes didn't look to be essential because outside of the trees the snow was pretty wind blown. We decided to turn around there with the highs winds and subzero temps. We are planning to return soon with cross country skis for the road approach. |
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12/27/2013 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 12/27/2013, By: janetl Info: Clear Creek road plowed/dry the first 4 miles in. I parked here with my Kia/Sephia but a good 4wd truck could go about a mile further (about a foot of snow on the road). I snow shoed in the 4 miles to the trailhead and left snow shoes a mile below tree line. That was a mistake, I should have kept them to tree line. Still some deeper snow drifts above treeline, and a thin, windblown layer of snow on Belford. I did not use spikes, but they might have been helpful. I was disappointed in myself that I didn't go for Oxford, but it was going to be a 15 mile day on snow by just doing Belford, and the workouts I did earlier in the week were also taking their toll on me. I didn't feel comfortable adding another 2+ hours to do the out/back on the cold windy ridge to Oxford. Overall a great day-about 10.5 hours.(When I got down to the road there were snowmobile tracks on it, but I'm still not sure it would be drivable for a truck). Happy climbing. Janet L |
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11/10/2013 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 11/10/2013, By: Michael Underwood Info: Road to TH is very easy to navigate, even in my 2WD passenger car. Trail itself is snowy and a little icy but still quite easy to follow. The sugary snow and underlying ice are a tiny bit slick, so microspikes are nice, especially on the descent. Gaiters were not necessary. |
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10/11/2013 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 10/11/2013, By: mlayman09 Info: Some snow is present above treeline, nothing above a foot though. However, there is a layer of ice on the trail. Microspikes would be very helpful. |
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9/7/2013 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 9/8/2013, By: jonandmalia Info: Excellent day and conditions. We did Belford and Oxford and there were no issues with trail or conditions. Short afternoon showers and a little hail. Awesome views! |
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8/11/2013 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 8/12/2013, By: DaveWruck Info: Summer like conditions most of the day but light snow fell in late afternoon on the peaks and saddle with light rain on Missouri Gulch near trailhead. No lightning and snow was the little pellets that just bounce off you so didn't get wet. |